Cash-strapped Perry campaign stops paying SC staff

Aides now working as 'volunteers,' casting doubt on bid's future

Republican presidential candidate and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry participates a pre-debate forum at the Quicken Loans Arena, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, in Cleveland. Seven of the candidates have not qualified for the primetime debate. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Photo: John Minchillo, STF

The presidential campaign of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry has stopped paying its staff in the early-voting state of South Carolina, a stunning move that may signal serious problems at the operation.

Perry's top three aides in the Palmetto State are continuing to work for the campaign, but, for now, are doing so in a "volunteer capacity," said Katon Dawson, the head of the state team, on Monday.

"We're going to work just as hard this week as we did the week before, and we look forward to helping the governor get the nomination," said Dawson, a former chair of the state Republican Party, who added he expects the campaign to "refocus on pay somewhere in September."

Strategists Walter Whetsell and Le Frye also are remaining with the campaign, Dawson said, but at least one core staffer has left amid the financial difficulty.

It was unclear Monday whether Perry aides in any other states were affected by the belt-tightening.

Momentum stalled

The development, first reported by the National Journal, is a blow to the 14-year governor's long-shot attempt for a second chance after an unsuccessful 2012 bid. Already, the 2016 run had been dealing with a lingering criminal indictment over a 2013 veto and polling numbers so low that Perry was relegated to the second-tier stage at the campaign's first debate last week.

Perry had hoped for a post-debate boost, but much of the momentum was taken by fellow underdog Carly Fiorina. On Monday, a new survey by Public Policy Polling showed Perry stuck at 2 percent support among Iowa voters in the crowded GOP field, while Fiorina had surged to 10 percent.

Iowa and South Carolina are both crucial states for Perry.

Fundraising also has been a concern, although it was not thought to be as urgent a problem as the pay suspension indicates. Perry's campaign said it raised $1.1 million in its first month and had roughly $885,000 on hand in July.

A group of Perry-supporting super PACs, free of fundraising limits, performed far better by raising $16.8 million.

On Monday, Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed played down the news of the pay suspension.

"As the campaign moves along, tough decisions have to be made in respect to both monetary and time-related resources," Nashed said. "Governor Perry remains committed to competing in the early states and will continue to have a strong presence in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina."

Austin Barbour, head of the Opportunity and Freedom super PACs, said the news did not change their plans.

"The good thing is that we do have plenty of money to make sure that we can do everything we need to support Rick Perry, particularly in Iowa," said Barbour, who suggested that fundraising by traditional campaigns is not as important in the age of super PACs.

"Today's campaigns are different," he said.

'Self-fulfilling prophecy'

Still, political experts agreed the pay suspension signaled turmoil in the Perry camp that could be debilitating.

"Ouch," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston, when informed of the news.

"The problem is that there's a perception that there are problems and that creates a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy where donors stop supporting you because they believe you have no chance," said Rottinghaus, although he added that the move may allow Perry to refocus on Iowa.

Dawson, the South Carolina director, acknowledged that Perry has struggled to raise money, saying the campaign recently had concentrated more on the debate than fundraising.

Still, he expressed optimism about Perry's prospects, particularly in the Palmetto State. The former governor is expected to travel to South Carolina later this week for a day packed with four events in three cities.

"I'm still going to pick up the governor on Thursday, and I'm excited to do it," Dawson said. "The governor is doing well here."

Brian M. Rosenthal is a state bureau reporter who primarily focuses on Texas government and politics, health and human services and enterprise projects. He is most passionate about covering vulnerable people and the ways in which they are affected by their government. An Indiana native and Northwestern University alumnus, he previously worked for The Seattle Times as a government reporter whose reporting on that region’s broken mental-health system helped spur significant reforms and was cited in a landmark state Supreme Court case.